Posted by MikeT23 on 10/20/2013 9:32:00 AM (view original):I won't punish an SEC team for losing to another SEC team but I will adjust for playing poorly.

OSU did themselves no favors by being tied with mighty Iowa going into the 4th quarter.
SC was beaten by poor clock management and a spectacular catch. That said, they shouldn't have been in that position.
GA is a shell of a team due to injuries.
I'm not sold on Mizzou but they're beating everyone in the SEC that they play. Another test next week.
I'm not buying Auburn yet.
TAMU gave up 381 yards rushing. Didn't see any of the game but that seems impossible.
3 INT by Mettenberger did in LSU but, again, they shouldn't have been in a position to lose that game.

Posted by MikeT23 on 10/21/2013 7:59:00 PM (view original):Better than moranis claiming "OSU should be #1!!!!!"

yeah because that is what I've claimed. So that wasn't me that had them at 4th multiple times in this thread. Must have been someone else. It also must have been someone else that picked Alabama to win the national title in the preseason prediction thread. I may be an OSU fan, but Alabama is the #1 team and Oregon is the clear #2 at this point in my mind. FSU is and should be 3rd. I would put OSU at 4th with Missouri right on their heels at 5th.

Putting OSU at 4th is folly. That's my point. I try to imagine head to head on neutral fields. I'm not sure I could pick a clear #1 between Bama, Oregon, FSU. My guess is one will stumble and there won't be any debate over the championship game even if I think there should be. The stumbling block for me is #4. I've not been impressed by OSU. Mizzou still has something to prove. I was liking Miami until everyone started beating FL. So I come back to Stanford despite them stubbing their toe.

Looking at it that way, Oregon has about as much claim to the top as OSU. And Alabama isn't far behind in the lack of proof. They beat VT with something like 150 total yards of offense. And TAMU gave up almost 400 yards rushing to Auburn.

Posted by MikeT23 on 10/22/2013 8:02:00 AM (view original):Putting OSU at 4th is folly. That's my point. I try to imagine head to head on neutral fields. I'm not sure I could pick a clear #1 between Bama, Oregon, FSU. My guess is one will stumble and there won't be any debate over the championship game even if I think there should be. The stumbling block for me is #4. I've not been impressed by OSU. Mizzou still has something to prove. I was liking Miami until everyone started beating FL. So I come back to Stanford despite them stubbing their toe.

I'm looking at it objectively and not just saying "No losses!!!!"

Stanford lost to a horrible team. It isn't like they lost to Oregon or UCLA or even Arizona St or Oregon St. You can not lose to Utah and be in the national title picture. You can not lose to Utah and be considered an elite team. And it wasn't like there were extenuating circumstances (i.e. a blizzard, an injury to your QB, a death in the program, etc.). That loss is totally and utterly indefensible.

Posted by MikeT23 on 10/22/2013 10:55:00 AM (view original):Most of it will sort itself out.

Alabama
Big Wins: TAMU, VATech
Remaining Tests: LSU, Auburn

Oregon:
BW: None
RT: UCLA, Stanford

FSU:
BW: Clemson
RT: Miami, Florida

OSU:
BW: Northwestern?
RT: Michigan?

Mizzou:
BW: GA, FL
RT: SC, TAMU

Stanford:
BW: UCLA
RT: Oregon, Notre Dame

Miami:
BW: Florida
RT: FSU, VATech

Ohio State's best win is 5-2 Wisconsin (and given Wiscy's schedule I would be a bit surprised if they don't finish 10-2 as they close at home with PSU). Next best is probably 4-3 and NW at this point, but OSU still has 4-2 PSU, 6-1 UM, and then the Big Ten title game (probably 6-1 MSU, 5-1 Neb, or 6-1 UM). Not a great schedule and no real elite teams on it, but it isn't the horrible disaster that a lot of people make it seem either. Cal being just downright awful hurt their schedule a lot.

Posted by MikeT23 on 10/22/2013 8:02:00 AM (view original):Putting OSU at 4th is folly. That's my point. I try to imagine head to head on neutral fields. I'm not sure I could pick a clear #1 between Bama, Oregon, FSU. My guess is one will stumble and there won't be any debate over the championship game even if I think there should be. The stumbling block for me is #4. I've not been impressed by OSU. Mizzou still has something to prove. I was liking Miami until everyone started beating FL. So I come back to Stanford despite them stubbing their toe.

I'm looking at it objectively and not just saying "No losses!!!!"

Stanford lost to a horrible team. It isn't like they lost to Oregon or UCLA or even Arizona St or Oregon St. You can not lose to Utah and be in the national title picture. You can not lose to Utah and be considered an elite team. And it wasn't like there were extenuating circumstances (i.e. a blizzard, an injury to your QB, a death in the program, etc.). That loss is totally and utterly indefensible.

Actually, we're talking about a 4 team playoff as I agree, if there are 3-5 undefeated teams, a 1 loss team doesn't sniff a 2 team playoff.

I'm hoping that the committee doesn't just say "Undefeated. They're in." I'm hoping the objective is to get the 4 best teams. Stanford passes the eye test. OSU does not.

The problem OSU has is they scheduled Buffalo, SDSU and Florida A&M. WI lost to ASU who got stomped by Stanford. OSU beat WI by a TD and, for all intents and purposes, NW by a field goal(or 4, I forget). They were tied going into the 4th against Iowa who lost to Northern Illinois. OSU just doesn't have a "good" win and it's unlikely they'll get one. There's a reason everyone was saying OSU and Louisville had a great shot to be undefeated.

And I get that a Buckeye fan will never change their mind on this. But OSU does NOT appear to be top 4 talent.

I just can't see how you can say a team that lost to Utah passes the eye test. Utah is horrible. Now sure if Stanford finishes the year 12-1 they will have a very nice season, but they will not be chosen ahead of Ohio State if OSU is 13-0. Just the reality of the situation. And for the record, Stanford scheduled San Jose St. and Army. All of the major teams schedule cupcakes, just the nature of the beast at this point (though OSU has said its future schedules will only include teams from the big conferences - 2017 and beyond based on already scheduled games).

And as I've said it will be the four most deserving teams and whether you want to admit it or not going unbeaten in a major conference will always be an argument for a team as a reason it is deserving.

As for talent, OSU has 6 players projected to be drafted (Shazier, Roby, Mewhort, Barnett, Hyde, and Bryant with 4 others with outside shots), Stanford has 5 (Murphy, Gardner, Skov, Hewitt, and Mauro with no one else even close). OSU has 2 players rated as first round picks (Shazier and Roby). Stanford has 0. The reason many felt OSU would go unbeaten is because they have a lot of talent, are coming off an unbeaten season, and are in Meyer's 2nd year at the program (typically his teams take a huge leap that year). Now sure it helps a bit that the Big Ten is a bit down, but it isn't like it is the MAC. There is still plenty of talent in the conference.

To even compare the Big Ten to the AAC is just silly. Though to be fair to Louisville a lot of their hype was because of their impressive bowl victory against Florida, which carried over to this season.